Network configured sensing bandwidth and channel occupancy time (cot) sharing

ABSTRACT

This disclosure provides systems, methods, and devices for wireless communication that support management of network-configured sensing bandwidths in a wireless communication system. In particular aspects, a network configures a sensing bandwidth, and the sensing bandwidth configuration is signaled to a contending node. The contending node (e.g., a UE or a base station) performs a medium sensing procedure (e.g., a listen-before-talk (LBT) procedure) using the signaled configuration of the sensing bandwidth. Aspects of this disclosure provide various techniques for signaling the configuration of the sensing bandwidth to the contending node.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of assigned U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 63/170,355, entitled, “NETWORK CONFIGURED SENSINGBANDWIDTH AND CHANNEL OCCUPANCY TIME (COT) SHARING,” filed Apr. 2, 2021,the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by reference hereinits entirety.

BACKGROUND Field

Aspects of the present disclosure relate generally to wirelesscommunication systems, and more particularly, to listen-before-transmit(LBT) operations for wireless communication systems.

Background

Wireless communication networks are widely deployed to provide variouscommunication services such as voice, video, packet data, messaging,broadcast, and the like. These wireless networks may be multiple-accessnetworks capable of supporting multiple users by sharing the availablenetwork resources. Such networks, which are usually multiple accessnetworks, support communications for multiple users by sharing theavailable network resources. One example of such a network is theUniversal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN). The UTRAN is theradio access network (RAN) defined as a part of the Universal MobileTelecommunications System (UMTS), a third generation (3G) mobile phonetechnology supported by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP).Examples of multiple-access network formats include Code DivisionMultiple Access (CDMA) networks, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA)networks, Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) networks, OrthogonalFDMA (OFDMA) networks, and Single-Carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) networks.

A wireless communication network may include a number of base stationsor node Bs that can support communication for a number of userequipments (UEs). A UE may communicate with a base station via downlinkand uplink. The downlink (or forward link) refers to the communicationlink from the base station to the UE, and the uplink (or reverse link)refers to the communication link from the UE to the base station.

A base station may transmit data and control information on the downlinkto a UE and/or may receive data and control information on the uplinkfrom the UE. On the downlink, a transmission from the base station mayencounter interference due to transmissions from neighbor base stationsor from other wireless radio frequency (RF) transmitters. On the uplink,a transmission from the UE may encounter interference from uplinktransmissions of other UEs communicating with the neighbor base stationsor from other wireless RF transmitters. This interference may degradeperformance on both the downlink and uplink.

As the demand for mobile broadband access continues to increase, thepossibilities of interference and congested networks grows with more UEsaccessing the long-range wireless communication networks and moreshort-range wireless systems being deployed in communities. Research anddevelopment continue to advance wireless technologies not only to meetthe growing demand for mobile broadband access, but to advance andenhance the user experience with mobile communications.

SUMMARY

The following summarizes some aspects of the present disclosure toprovide a basic understanding of the discussed technology. This summaryis not an extensive overview of all contemplated features of thedisclosure and is intended neither to identify key or critical elementsof all aspects of the disclosure nor to delineate the scope of any orall aspects of the disclosure. Its sole purpose is to present someconcepts of one or more aspects of the disclosure in summary form as aprelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.

In one aspect of the disclosure, a method of wireless communicationincludes receiving, by a user equipment (UE), a configuration for alisten-before-talk (LBT) sensing window over which the UE is to performa clear channel assessment (CCA) procedure to determine whether achannel in an unlicensed spectrum is available for a data transmissionover a transmission bandwidth. The configuration defines one or more ofa bandwidth of the LBT sensing window, and a size for each of aplurality of LBT subbands of the LBT sensing window. The method furtherincludes performing the CCA procedure on at least one LBT subband of theplurality of LBT subbands of the LBT sensing window, determining, basedon performing the CCA procedure on the at least one LBT subband of theplurality of LBT subbands of the LBT sensing window, that the channel inthe unlicensed spectrum is available for the data transmission over thetransmission bandwidth, and transmitting the data over the transmissionbandwidth.

In an additional aspect of the disclosure, a method of wirelesscommunication includes generating, by a base station, a configurationfor an LBT sensing window over which a UE is to perform a CCA procedureto determine whether a channel in an unlicensed spectrum is availablefor a data transmission over a transmission bandwidth. The configurationdefines one or more of a bandwidth of the LBT sensing window, and a sizefor each of a plurality of LBT subbands of the LBT sensing window. Themethod further include transmitting the configuration for the LBTsensing window to the UE. In aspects, the UE determines, based onperforming the CCA procedure on at least one LBT subband of theplurality of LBT subbands of the LBT sensing window, that the channel inthe unlicensed spectrum is available for the data transmission over thetransmission bandwidth.

In an additional aspect of the disclosure, an apparatus configured forwireless communication is disclosed. The apparatus includes means forreceiving, by a UE, a configuration for an LBT sensing window over whichthe UE is to perform a CCA procedure to determine whether a channel inan unlicensed spectrum is available for a data transmission over atransmission bandwidth. In aspects, the configuration defines one ormore of: a bandwidth of the LBT sensing window, and a size for each of aplurality of LBT subbands of the LBT sensing window. The apparatusfurther includes means for performing the CCA procedure on at least oneLBT subband of the plurality of LBT subbands of the LBT sensing window,means for determining, based on performing the CCA procedure on the atleast one LBT subband of the plurality of LBT subbands of the LBTsensing window, that the channel in the unlicensed spectrum is availablefor the data transmission over the transmission bandwidth, and means fortransmitting the data over the transmission bandwidth.

In an additional aspect of the disclosure, an apparatus configured forwireless communication is disclosed. The apparatus includes means forgenerating, by a base station, a configuration for an LBT sensing windowover which a UE is to perform a CCA procedure to determine whether achannel in an unlicensed spectrum is available for a data transmissionover a transmission bandwidth. In aspects, the configuration defines oneor more of: a bandwidth of the LBT sensing window, and a size for eachof a plurality of LBT subbands of the LBT sensing window. The apparatusfurther includes means for transmitting the configuration for the LBTsensing window to the UE. In aspects, the UE determines, based onperforming the CCA procedure on at least one LBT subband of theplurality of LBT subbands of the LBT sensing window, that the channel inthe unlicensed spectrum is available for the data transmission over thetransmission bandwidth.

In an additional aspect of the disclosure, a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium having program code recorded thereon isdisclosed. The program code comprises program code executable by acomputer for causing the computer to receive, by a UE, a configurationfor an LBT sensing window over which the UE is to perform a CCAprocedure to determine whether a channel in an unlicensed spectrum isavailable for a data transmission over a transmission bandwidth. Inaspects, the configuration defines one or more of: a bandwidth of theLBT sensing window, and a size for each of a plurality of LBT subbandsof the LBT sensing window. The program code further includes programcode executable by a computer for causing the computer to perform theCCA procedure on at least one LBT subband of the plurality of LBTsubbands of the LBT sensing window, to determine, based on performingthe CCA procedure on the at least one LBT subband of the plurality ofLBT subbands of the LBT sensing window, that the channel in theunlicensed spectrum is available for the data transmission over thetransmission bandwidth, and to transmit the data over the transmissionbandwidth.

In an additional aspect of the disclosure, a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium having program code recorded thereon isdisclosed. The program code comprises program code executable by acomputer for causing the computer to generate, by a base station, aconfiguration for an LBT sensing window over which a UE is to perform aCCA procedure to determine whether a channel in an unlicensed spectrumis available for a data transmission over a transmission bandwidth. Inaspects, the configuration defines one or more of: a bandwidth of theLBT sensing window, and a size for each of a plurality of LBT subbandsof the LBT sensing window. The program code further includes programcode executable by a computer for causing the computer to transmit theconfiguration for the LBT sensing window to the UE. In aspects, the UEdetermines, based on performing the CCA procedure on at least one LBTsubband of the plurality of LBT subbands of the LBT sensing window, thatthe channel in the unlicensed spectrum is available for the datatransmission over the transmission bandwidth.

In an additional aspect of the disclosure, an apparatus configured forwireless communication is disclosed. The apparatus includes at least oneprocessor, and a memory coupled to the at least one processor. The atleast one processor is configured to receive, by a UE, a configurationfor an LBT sensing window over which the UE is to perform a CCAprocedure to determine whether a channel in an unlicensed spectrum isavailable for a data transmission over a transmission bandwidth. Inaspects, the configuration defines one or more of: a bandwidth of theLBT sensing window, and a size for each of a plurality of LBT subbandsof the LBT sensing window. The at least one processor is furtherconfigured to perform the CCA procedure on at least one LBT subband ofthe plurality of LBT subbands of the LBT sensing window, to determine,based on performing the CCA procedure on the at least one LBT subband ofthe plurality of LBT subbands of the LBT sensing window, that thechannel in the unlicensed spectrum is available for the datatransmission over the transmission bandwidth, and to transmit the dataover the transmission bandwidth.

In an additional aspect of the disclosure, an apparatus configured forwireless communication is disclosed. The apparatus includes at least oneprocessor, and a memory coupled to the at least one processor. The atleast one processor is configured to generate, by a base station, aconfiguration for an LBT sensing window over which a UE is to perform aCCA procedure to determine whether a channel in an unlicensed spectrumis available for a data transmission over a transmission bandwidth. Inaspects, the configuration defines one or more of: a bandwidth of theLBT sensing window, and a size for each of a plurality of LBT subbandsof the LBT sensing window. The at least one processor is furtherconfigured to transmit the configuration for the LBT sensing window tothe UE. In aspects, the UE determines, based on performing the CCAprocedure on at least one LBT subband of the plurality of LBT subbandsof the LBT sensing window, that the channel in the unlicensed spectrumis available for the data transmission over the transmission bandwidth

Other aspects, features, and implementations will become apparent tothose of ordinary skill in the art, upon reviewing the followingdescription of specific, exemplary aspects in conjunction with theaccompanying figures. While features may be discussed relative tocertain aspects and figures below, various aspects may include one ormore of the advantageous features discussed herein. In other words,while one or more aspects may be discussed as having certainadvantageous features, one or more of such features may also be used inaccordance with the various aspects. In similar fashion, while exemplaryaspects may be discussed below as device, system, or method aspects, theexemplary aspects may be implemented in various devices, systems, andmethods.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A further understanding of the nature and advantages of the presentdisclosure may be realized by reference to the following drawings. Inthe appended figures, similar components or features may have the samereference label. Further, various components of the same type may bedistinguished by following the reference label by a dash and a secondlabel that distinguishes among the similar components. If just the firstreference label is used in the specification, the description isapplicable to any one of the similar components having the same firstreference label irrespective of the second reference label.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating details of a wirelesscommunication system.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a design of a base station and aUE configured according to one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a wirelesscommunication system according to some aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a channel occupancy time (COT)-sharingtransmission scheme according to some aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating a method of wireless communicationperformed by a UE according to some aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating a method of wireless communicationperformed by a base station according to some aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a UE according tosome aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a base stationaccording to some aspects of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The detailed description set forth below, in connection with theappended drawings, is intended as a description of variousconfigurations and is not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure.Rather, the detailed description includes specific details for thepurpose of providing a thorough understanding of the inventive subjectmatter. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that thesespecific details are not required in every case and that, in someinstances, well-known structures and components are shown in blockdiagram form for clarity of presentation.

Various aspects of the present disclosure relate to techniques thatenable management of network-configured sensing bandwidths in a wirelesscommunication system. In particular aspects of the present disclosure, anetwork may configure a sensing bandwidth, and the sensing bandwidthconfiguration may be signaled to a contending node. The contending node(e.g., a UE or a base station) may then perform a medium sensingprocedure (e.g., an LBT procedure) using the configuration of thesensing bandwidth signaled to the UE. By providing techniques forconfiguring a sensing bandwidth at the network, and signaling thesensing bandwidth configuration to contending nodes, aspects of thepresent disclosure provide a more dynamic process that is better suitedfor those large variations in channel bandwidths, and which is betteradapted to handle deployed channelization/numerology and heterogeneityin the frequency domain interference.

This disclosure relates generally to providing or participating inauthorized shared access between two or more wireless devices in one ormore wireless communications systems, also referred to as wirelesscommunications networks. In various implementations, the techniques andapparatus may be used for wireless communication networks such as codedivision multiple access (CDMA) networks, time division multiple access(TDMA) networks, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) networks,orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA) networks, single-carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA)networks, LTE networks, GSM networks, 5^(th) Generation (5G) or newradio (NR) networks (sometimes referred to as “5G NR” networks, systems,or devices), as well as other communications networks. As describedherein, the terms “networks” and “systems” may be used interchangeably.

A CDMA network, for example, may implement a radio technology such asuniversal terrestrial radio access (UTRA), cdma2000, and the like. UTRAincludes wideband-CDMA (W-CDMA) and low chip rate (LCR). CDMA2000 coversIS-2000, IS-95, and IS-856 standards.

A TDMA network may, for example implement a radio technology such asGlobal System for Mobile Communication (GSM). The 3rd GenerationPartnership Project (3GPP) defines standards for the GSM EDGE (enhanceddata rates for GSM evolution) radio access network (RAN), also denotedas GERAN. GERAN is the radio component of GSM/EDGE, together with thenetwork that joins the base stations (for example, the Ater and Abisinterfaces) and the base station controllers (A interfaces, etc.). Theradio access network represents a component of a GSM network, throughwhich phone calls and packet data are routed from and to the publicswitched telephone network (PSTN) and Internet to and from subscriberhandsets, also known as user terminals or user equipments (UEs). Amobile phone operator's network may comprise one or more GERANs, whichmay be coupled with UTRANs in the case of a UMTS/GSM network.Additionally, an operator network may also include one or more LTEnetworks, or one or more other networks. The various different networktypes may use different radio access technologies (RATs) and RANs.

An OFDMA network may implement a radio technology such as evolved UTRA(E-UTRA), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)802.11, IEEE 802.16, IEEE 802.20, flash-OFDM and the like. UTRA, E-UTRA,and GSM are part of universal mobile telecommunication system (UMTS). Inparticular, long term evolution (LTE) is a release of UMTS that usesE-UTRA. UTRA, E-UTRA, GSM, UMTS and LTE are described in documentsprovided from an organization named “3rd Generation Partnership Project”(3GPP), and cdma2000 is described in documents from an organizationnamed “3rd Generation Partnership Project 2” (3GPP2). These variousradio technologies and standards are known or are being developed. Forexample, the 3GPP is a collaboration between groups oftelecommunications associations that aims to define a globallyapplicable third generation (3G) mobile phone specification. 3GPP LTE isa 3GPP project which was aimed at improving UMTS mobile phone standard.The 3GPP may define specifications for the next generation of mobilenetworks, mobile systems, and mobile devices. The present disclosure maydescribe certain aspects with reference to LTE, 4G, or 5G NRtechnologies; however, the description is not intended to be limited toa specific technology or application, and one or more aspects describedwith reference to one technology may be understood to be applicable toanother technology. Additionally, one or more aspects of the presentdisclosure may be related to shared access to wireless spectrum betweennetworks using different radio access technologies or radio airinterfaces.

5G networks contemplate diverse deployments, diverse spectrum, anddiverse services and devices that may be implemented using an OFDM-basedunified, air interface. To achieve these goals, further enhancements toLTE and LTE-A are considered in addition to development of the new radiotechnology for 5G NR networks. The 5G NR will be capable of scaling toprovide coverage (1) to a massive Internet of things (IoTs) with anultra-high density (e.g., ˜1 M nodes/km²), ultra-low complexity (e.g.,˜10 s of bits/sec), ultra-low energy (e.g., ˜10+ years of battery life),and deep coverage with the capability to reach challenging locations;(2) including mission-critical control with strong security to safeguardsensitive personal, financial, or classified information, ultra-highreliability (e.g., −0.99.9999% reliability), ultra-low latency (e.g., ˜1millisecond (ms)), and users with wide ranges of mobility or lackthereof; and (3) with enhanced mobile broadband including extreme highcapacity (e.g., ˜10 Tbps/km²), extreme data rates (e.g., multi-Gbpsrate, 100+ Mbps user experienced rates), and deep awareness withadvanced discovery and optimizations.

Devices, networks, and systems may be configured to communicate via oneor more portions of the electromagnetic spectrum. The electromagneticspectrum is often subdivided, based on frequency or wavelength, intovarious classes, bands, channels, etc. In 5G NR two initial operatingbands have been identified as frequency range designations FR1 (410MHz-7.125 GHz) and FR2 (24.25 GHz—52.6 GHz). The frequencies between FR1and FR2 are often referred to as mid-band frequencies. Although aportion of FR1 is greater than 6 GHz, FR1 is often referred to(interchangeably) as a “sub-6 GHz” band in various documents andarticles. A similar nomenclature issue sometimes occurs with regard toFR2, which is often referred to (interchangeably) as a “millimeter wave”(mmWave) band in documents and articles, despite being different fromthe extremely high frequency (EHF) band (30 GHz—300 GHz) which isidentified by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) as a“mmWave” band.

With the above aspects in mind, unless specifically stated otherwise, itshould be understood that the term “sub-6 GHz” or the like if usedherein may broadly represent frequencies that may be less than 6 GHz,may be within FR1, or may include mid-band frequencies. Further, unlessspecifically stated otherwise, it should be understood that the term“mmWave” or the like if used herein may broadly represent frequenciesthat may include mid-band frequencies, may be within FR2, or may bewithin the EHF band.

5G NR devices, networks, and systems may be implemented to use optimizedOFDM-based waveform features. These features may include scalablenumerology and transmission time intervals (TTIs); a common, flexibleframework to efficiently multiplex services and features with a dynamic,low-latency time division duplex (TDD) design or frequency divisionduplex (FDD) design; and advanced wireless technologies, such as massivemultiple input, multiple output (MIMO), robust mmWave transmissions,advanced channel coding, and device-centric mobility. Scalability of thenumerology in 5G NR, with scaling of subcarrier spacing, may efficientlyaddress operating diverse services across diverse spectrum and diversedeployments. For example, in various outdoor and macro coveragedeployments of less than 3 GHz FDD or TDD implementations, subcarrierspacing may occur with 15 kHz, for example over 1, 5, 10, 20 MHz, andthe like bandwidth. For other various outdoor and small cell coveragedeployments of TDD greater than 3 GHz, subcarrier spacing may occur with30 kHz over 80/100 MHz bandwidth. For other various indoor widebandimplementations, using a TDD over the unlicensed portion of the 5 GHzband, the subcarrier spacing may occur with 60 kHz over a 160 MHzbandwidth. Finally, for various deployments transmitting with mmWavecomponents at a TDD of 28 GHz, subcarrier spacing may occur with 120 kHzover a 500 MHz bandwidth.

The scalable numerology of 5G NR facilitates scalable TTI for diverselatency and quality of service (QoS) requirements. For example, shorterTTI may be used for low latency and high reliability, while longer TTImay be used for higher spectral efficiency. The efficient multiplexingof long and short TTIs to allow transmissions to start on symbolboundaries. 5G NR also contemplates a self-contained integrated subframedesign with uplink or downlink scheduling information, data, andacknowledgement in the same subframe. The self-contained integratedsubframe supports communications in unlicensed or contention-basedshared spectrum, adaptive uplink or downlink that may be flexiblyconfigured on a per-cell basis to dynamically switch between uplink anddownlink to meet the current traffic needs.

For clarity, certain aspects of the apparatus and techniques may bedescribed below with reference to example 5G NR implementations or in a5G-centric way, and 5G terminology may be used as illustrative examplesin portions of the description below; however, the description is notintended to be limited to 5G applications.

Moreover, it should be understood that, in operation, wirelesscommunication networks adapted according to the concepts herein mayoperate with any combination of licensed or unlicensed spectrumdepending on loading and availability. Accordingly, it will be apparentto a person having ordinary skill in the art that the systems, apparatusand methods described herein may be applied to other communicationssystems and applications than the particular examples provided.

While aspects and implementations are described in this application byillustration to some examples, those skilled in the art will understandthat additional implementations and use cases may come about in manydifferent arrangements and scenarios. Innovations described herein maybe implemented across many differing platform types, devices, systems,shapes, sizes, packaging arrangements. For example, implementations oruses may come about via integrated chip implementations or othernon-module-component based devices (e.g., end-user devices, vehicles,communication devices, computing devices, industrial equipment, retaildevices or purchasing devices, medical devices, AI-enabled devices,etc.). While some examples may or may not be specifically directed touse cases or applications, a wide assortment of applicability ofdescribed innovations may occur. Implementations may range fromchip-level or modular components to non-modular, non-chip-levelimplementations and further to aggregated, distributed, or originalequipment manufacturer (OEM) devices or systems incorporating one ormore described aspects. In some practical settings, devicesincorporating described aspects and features may also necessarilyinclude additional components and features for implementation andpractice of claimed and described aspects. It is intended thatinnovations described herein may be practiced in a wide variety ofimplementations, including both large devices or small devices,chip-level components, multi-component systems (e.g., radio frequency(RF)-chain, communication interface, processor), distributedarrangements, end-user devices, etc. of varying sizes, shapes, andconstitution.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating details of an example wirelesscommunication system according to one or more aspects. The wirelesscommunication system may include wireless network 100. Wireless network100 may, for example, include a 5G wireless network. As appreciated bythose skilled in the art, components appearing in FIG. 1 are likely tohave related counterparts in other network arrangements including, forexample, cellular-style network arrangements andnon-cellular-style-network arrangements (e.g., device to device or peerto peer or ad hoc network arrangements, etc.).

Wireless network 100 illustrated in FIG. 1 includes a number of basestations 105 and other network entities. A base station may be a stationthat communicates with the UEs and may also be referred to as an evolvednode B (eNB), a next generation eNB (gNB), an access point, and thelike. Each base station 105 may provide communication coverage for aparticular geographic area. In 3GPP, the term “cell” may refer to thisparticular geographic coverage area of a base station or a base stationsubsystem serving the coverage area, depending on the context in whichthe term is used. In implementations of wireless network 100 herein,base stations 105 may be associated with a same operator or differentoperators (e.g., wireless network 100 may include a plurality ofoperator wireless networks). Additionally, in implementations ofwireless network 100 herein, base station 105 may provide wirelesscommunications using one or more of the same frequencies (e.g., one ormore frequency bands in licensed spectrum, unlicensed spectrum, or acombination thereof) as a neighboring cell. In some examples, anindividual base station 105 or UE 115 may be operated by more than onenetwork operating entity. In some other examples, each base station 105and UE 115 may be operated by a single network operating entity.

A base station may provide communication coverage for a macro cell or asmall cell, such as a pico cell or a femto cell, or other types of cell.A macro cell generally covers a relatively large geographic area (e.g.,several kilometers in radius) and may allow unrestricted access by UEswith service subscriptions with the network provider. A small cell, suchas a pico cell, would generally cover a relatively smaller geographicarea and may allow unrestricted access by UEs with service subscriptionswith the network provider. A small cell, such as a femto cell, wouldalso generally cover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a home)and, in addition to unrestricted access, may also provide restrictedaccess by UEs having an association with the femto cell (e.g., UEs in aclosed subscriber group (CSG), UEs for users in the home, and the like).A base station for a macro cell may be referred to as a macro basestation. A base station for a small cell may be referred to as a smallcell base station, a pico base station, a femto base station or a homebase station. In the example shown in FIG. 1, base stations 105 d and105 e are regular macro base stations, while base stations 105 a-105 care macro base stations enabled with one of 3 dimension (3D), fulldimension (FD), or massive MIMO. Base stations 105 a-105 c takeadvantage of their higher dimension MIMO capabilities to exploit 3Dbeamforming in both elevation and azimuth beamforming to increasecoverage and capacity. Base station 105 f is a small cell base stationwhich may be a home node or portable access point. A base station maysupport one or multiple (e.g., two, three, four, and the like) cells.

Wireless network 100 may support synchronous or asynchronous operation.For synchronous operation, the base stations may have similar frametiming, and transmissions from different base stations may beapproximately aligned in time. For asynchronous operation, the basestations may have different frame timing, and transmissions fromdifferent base stations may not be aligned in time. In some scenarios,networks may be enabled or configured to handle dynamic switchingbetween synchronous or asynchronous operations.

UEs 115 are dispersed throughout the wireless network 100, and each UEmay be stationary or mobile. It should be appreciated that, although amobile apparatus is commonly referred to as a UE in standards andspecifications promulgated by the 3GPP, such apparatus may additionallyor otherwise be referred to by those skilled in the art as a mobilestation (MS), a subscriber station, a mobile unit, a subscriber unit, awireless unit, a remote unit, a mobile device, a wireless device, awireless communications device, a remote device, a mobile subscriberstation, an access terminal (AT), a mobile terminal, a wirelessterminal, a remote terminal, a handset, a terminal, a user agent, amobile client, a client, a gaming device, an augmented reality device,vehicular component, vehicular device, or vehicular module, or someother suitable terminology. Within the present document, a “mobile”apparatus or UE need not necessarily have a capability to move, and maybe stationary. Some non-limiting examples of a mobile apparatus, such asmay include implementations of one or more of UEs 115, include a mobile,a cellular (cell) phone, a smart phone, a session initiation protocol(SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a laptop, a personalcomputer (PC), a notebook, a netbook, a smart book, a tablet, and apersonal digital assistant (PDA). A mobile apparatus may additionally bean IoT or “Internet of everything” (IoE) device such as an automotive orother transportation vehicle, a satellite radio, a global positioningsystem (GPS) device, a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) device,a logistics controller, a drone, a multi-copter, a quad-copter, a smartenergy or security device, a solar panel or solar array, municipallighting, water, or other infrastructure; industrial automation andenterprise devices; consumer and wearable devices, such as eyewear, awearable camera, a smart watch, a health or fitness tracker, a mammalimplantable device, gesture tracking device, medical device, a digitalaudio player (e.g., MP3 player), a camera, a game console, etc.; anddigital home or smart home devices such as a home audio, video, andmultimedia device, an appliance, a sensor, a vending machine,intelligent lighting, a home security system, a smart meter, etc. In oneaspect, a UE may be a device that includes a Universal IntegratedCircuit Card (UICC). In another aspect, a UE may be a device that doesnot include a UICC. In some aspects, UEs that do not include UICCs mayalso be referred to as IoE devices. UEs 115 a-115 d of theimplementation illustrated in FIG. 1 are examples of mobile smartphone-type devices accessing wireless network 100 A UE may also be amachine specifically configured for connected communication, includingmachine type communication (MTC), enhanced MTC (eMTC), narrowband IoT(NB-IoT) and the like. UEs 115 e-115 k illustrated in FIG. 1 areexamples of various machines configured for communication that accesswireless network 100.

A mobile apparatus, such as UEs 115, may be able to communicate with anytype of the base stations, whether macro base stations, pico basestations, femto base stations, relays, and the like. In FIG. 1, acommunication link (represented as a lightning bolt) indicates wirelesstransmissions between a UE and a serving base station, which is a basestation designated to serve the UE on the downlink or uplink, or desiredtransmission between base stations, and backhaul transmissions betweenbase stations. UEs may operate as base stations or other network nodesin some scenarios. Backhaul communication between base stations ofwireless network 100 may occur using wired or wireless communicationlinks.

In operation at wireless network 100, base stations 105 a-105 c serveUEs 115 a and 115 b using 3D beamforming and coordinated spatialtechniques, such as coordinated multipoint (CoMP) or multi-connectivity.Macro base station 105 d performs backhaul communications with basestations 105 a-105 c, as well as small cell, base station 105 f. Macrobase station 105 d also transmits multicast services which aresubscribed to and received by UEs 115 c and 115 d. Such multicastservices may include mobile television or stream video, or may includeother services for providing community information, such as weatheremergencies or alerts, such as Amber alerts or gray alerts.

Wireless network 100 of implementations supports mission criticalcommunications with ultra-reliable and redundant links for missioncritical devices, such UE 115 e, which is a drone. Redundantcommunication links with UE 115 e include from macro base stations 105 dand 105 e, as well as small cell base station 105 f. Other machine typedevices, such as UE 115 f (thermometer), UE 115 g (smart meter), and UE115 h (wearable device) may communicate through wireless network 100either directly with base stations, such as small cell base station 105f, and macro base station 105 e, or in multi-hop configurations bycommunicating with another user device which relays its information tothe network, such as UE 115 f communicating temperature measurementinformation to the smart meter, UE 115 g, which is then reported to thenetwork through small cell base station 105 f. Wireless network 100 mayalso provide additional network efficiency through dynamic, low-latencyTDD communications or low-latency FDD communications, such as in avehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) mesh network between UEs 115 i-115 kcommunicating with macro base station 105 e.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating examples of base station 105 andUE 115 according to one or more aspects. Base station 105 and UE 115 maybe any of the base stations and one of the UEs in FIG. 1. For arestricted association scenario (as mentioned above), base station 105may be small cell base station 105 f in FIG. 1, and UE 115 may be UE 115c or 115 d operating in a service area of base station 105 f, which inorder to access small cell base station 105 f, would be included in alist of accessible UEs for small cell base station 105 f. Base station105 may also be a base station of some other type. As shown in FIG. 2,base station 105 may be equipped with antennas 234 a through 234 t, andUE 115 may be equipped with antennas 252 a through 252 r forfacilitating wireless communications.

At base station 105, transmit processor 220 may receive data from datasource 212 and control information from controller 240, such as aprocessor. The control information may be for a physical broadcastchannel (PBCH), a physical control format indicator channel (PCFICH), aphysical hybrid-ARQ (automatic repeat request) indicator channel(PHICH), a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), an enhancedphysical downlink control channel (EPDCCH), an MTC physical downlinkcontrol channel (MPDCCH), etc. The data may be for a physical downlinkshared channel (PDSCH), etc. Additionally, transmit processor 220 mayprocess (e.g., encode and symbol map) the data and control informationto obtain data symbols and control symbols, respectively. Transmitprocessor 220 may also generate reference symbols, e.g., for the primarysynchronization signal (PSS) and secondary synchronization signal (SSS),and cell-specific reference signal. Transmit (TX) MIMO processor 230 mayperform spatial processing (e.g., precoding) on the data symbols, thecontrol symbols, or the reference symbols, if applicable, and mayprovide output symbol streams to modulators (MODs) 232 a through 232 t.For example, spatial processing performed on the data symbols, thecontrol symbols, or the reference symbols may include precoding. Eachmodulator 232 may process a respective output symbol stream (e.g., forOFDM, etc.) to obtain an output sample stream. Each modulator 232 mayadditionally or alternatively process (e.g., convert to analog, amplify,filter, and upconvert) the output sample stream to obtain a downlinksignal. Downlink signals from modulators 232 a through 232 t may betransmitted via antennas 234 a through 234 t, respectively.

At UE 115, antennas 252 a through 252 r may receive the downlink signalsfrom base station 105 and may provide received signals to demodulators(DEMODs) 254 a through 254 r, respectively. Each demodulator 254 maycondition (e.g., filter, amplify, downconvert, and digitize) arespective received signal to obtain input samples. Each demodulator 254may further process the input samples (e.g., for OFDM, etc.) to obtainreceived symbols. MIMO detector 256 may obtain received symbols fromdemodulators 254 a through 254 r, perform MIMO detection on the receivedsymbols if applicable, and provide detected symbols. Receive processor258 may process (e.g., demodulate, deinterleave, and decode) thedetected symbols, provide decoded data for UE 115 to data sink 260, andprovide decoded control information to controller 280, such as aprocessor.

On the uplink, at UE 115, transmit processor 264 may receive and processdata (e.g., for a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH)) from datasource 262 and control information (e.g., for a physical uplink controlchannel (PUCCH)) from controller 280. Additionally, transmit processor264 may also generate reference symbols for a reference signal. Thesymbols from transmit processor 264 may be precoded by TX MIMO processor266 if applicable, further processed by modulators 254 a through 254 r(e.g., for SC-FDM, etc.), and transmitted to base station 105. At basestation 105, the uplink signals from UE 115 may be received by antennas234, processed by demodulators 232, detected by MIMO detector 236 ifapplicable, and further processed by receive processor 238 to obtaindecoded data and control information sent by UE 115. Receive processor238 may provide the decoded data to data sink 239 and the decodedcontrol information to controller 240.

Controllers 240 and 280 may direct the operation at base station 105 andUE 115, respectively. Controller 240 or other processors and modules atbase station 105 or controller 280 or other processors and modules at UE115 may perform or direct the execution of various processes for thetechniques described herein, such as to perform or direct the executionillustrated in FIGS. 3, 5, and 6, or other processes for the techniquesdescribed herein. Memories 242 and 282 may store data and program codesfor base station 105 and UE 115, respectively. Scheduler 244 mayschedule UEs for data transmission on the downlink or the uplink.

In some cases, UE 115 and base station 105 may operate in a shared radiofrequency spectrum band, which may include licensed or unlicensed (e.g.,contention-based) frequency spectrum. In an unlicensed frequency portionof the shared radio frequency spectrum band, UEs 115 or base stations105 may traditionally perform a medium-sensing procedure to contend foraccess to the frequency spectrum. For example, UE 115 or base station105 may perform a listen-before-talk or listen-before-transmitting (LBT)procedure such as a clear channel assessment (CCA) prior tocommunicating in order to determine whether the shared channel isavailable. In some implementations, a CCA may include an energydetection procedure to determine whether there are any other activetransmissions. For example, a device may infer that a change in areceived signal strength indicator (RSSI) of a power meter indicatesthat a channel is occupied. Specifically, signal power that isconcentrated in a certain bandwidth and exceeds a predetermined noisefloor may indicate another wireless transmitter. A CCA also may includedetection of specific sequences that indicate use of the channel. Forexample, another device may transmit a specific preamble prior totransmitting a data sequence. In some cases, an LBT procedure mayinclude a wireless node adjusting its own backoff window based on theamount of energy detected on a channel or theacknowledge/negative-acknowledge (ACK/NACK) feedback for its owntransmitted packets as a proxy for collisions.

In current implementations, determining whether a communication mediumor channel is available in an unlicensed spectrum, a procedure that issometimes referred to as medium or channel sensing, may includeperforming a procedure to detect an energy on the communication channel(e.g., a CCA) to determine the presence or absence of other signals onthe channel in order to determine if the channel is occupied or clear.During a CCA, the energy detected on the channel may be compared to athreshold and, when the energy detected is less than the threshold, thecommunication channel may be deemed to be available or clear. Otherwise,when the energy detected is equal to or greater than the threshold, thecommunication channel may be deemed to be unavailable or occupied.

In a particular example, such as in a wireless communication systemoperating in accordance with a 5G NR network protocol such as thatdefined by the 3GPP, a contending node (e.g., a UE or a base station)may initiate an LBT operation (e.g., to determine whether acommunication channel (e.g., a frequency spectrum within an unlicensedfrequency spectrum) is available for access. In some implementations,the communication channel may be included in a mmWave frequencyspectrum, such as a 52 gigahertz (GHz) to 71 GHz frequency spectrum, asan illustrative example. The 52 to 71 GHz frequency spectrum may bereferred to as an FR2× frequency spectrum.

To determine whether the communication channel is available, thecontending node may perform CCA procedure in which a scan of a sensingbandwidth, also referred to herein as a sensing window, (e.g., bydetecting signals or interference within the sensing bandwidth andmeasuring energy of the signals or interference) is performed todetermine an energy parameter associated with the sensing bandwidth. Thesensing bandwidth may refer to the particular set or range of frequencyresources over which the LBT procedure (e.g., the CCA) is to beperformed. In implementations, a contending node may perform the LBTprocedure (e.g., the CCA) over the sensing bandwidth to determinewhether the communication channel is available or not.

Once the energy parameter is detected, the contending node may thencompare the energy parameter to an energy detection threshold (EDT) todetermine a result of the LBT operation. To illustrate, in some wirelesscommunication protocols, the EDT may be expressed in decibel-milliwatts(dBm) and may be determined based on Equation 1:

$\begin{matrix}{{EDT} = {{{- 80}{dBm}} + {10*{\log_{10}\left( \frac{P\max}{Pout} \right)}} + {10*{{\log_{10}({BW})}.}}}} & \left( {{Equation}1} \right)\end{matrix}$

In Equation 1, Pmax may indicate a maximum radio frequency (RF)transmission power associated with the contending node, Pout mayindicate an RF transmission power used by the contending node (wherePout≤Pmax), and BW may indicate the bandwidth (e.g., in megahertz (MHz)of the particular communication channel.

In some examples, if the energy parameter fails to satisfy (e.g., isless than, or is less than or equal to) the EDT, then the communicationchannel may be deemed to be available or clear. In this case, thecontending node may acquire at least a portion of the communicationchannel and may transmit one or more signals (such as an uplink ordownlink transmission) during a channel occupancy time (COT) associatedwith the LBT operation. The contending node may transmit thetransmission using the communication channel corresponding to thesensing bandwidth. In some other examples, if the energy parametersatisfies (e.g., is greater than, or is greater than or equal to) theEDT, then the communication channel may be deemed to be unavailable oroccupied. In this case, the contending node may postpone thetransmission (e.g., until performing another CCA scan having a resultthat indicates the communication channel is available).

However, as will be appreciated from the foregoing, performing the LBTprocedure to determine whether the communication channel is available,requires first determining the sensing bandwidth. In someimplementations, the sensing bandwidth over which the LBT sensing may beperformed by a contending node (e.g., a base station or a UE) may bedetermined in different ways or by different alternatives. In onealternative, the sensing bandwidth may be determined to be the channelbandwidth or the bandwidth part (BWP) bandwidth assigned or configuredfor the node. For example, a node (e.g., a UE or base station) may beconfigured with a BWP bandwidth that may include a number of uplinkand/or downlink BWPs, which may be active or inactive. In this case, thesensing bandwidth may be determined to be the BWP bandwidth configuredfor the node.

In another alternative, the sensing bandwidth over which the LBT sensingmay be performed by a contending node (e.g., a base station or a UE) maybe determined to be the transmission bandwidth. In this case, thetransmission bandwidth may include the set of frequencies over which atransmission for which a contending node is contending is to occur. Inthis case, a contending node (e.g., a UE or base station) may beconfigured to perform the LBT sensing procedure (e.g., the CCA) over thetransmission frequency.

In yet another alternative, the sensing bandwidth may be determined bydefining an LBT unit, also referred to as an LBT subband, and dividing achannel bandwidth (or BWP bandwidth) into a number of LBT subbands. Inthis case, a contending node (e.g., a UE or base station) may beconfigured to perform the LBT sensing procedure (e.g., the CCA) over allthe LBT subbands, within the communication channel bandwidth, over whichthe data transmission is to occur.

Although these alternatives provide different ways to configure thesensing bandwidth, some wireless network deployments are expected toinclude unlicensed spectrums with large variations in channelbandwidths. These large variations in channel bandwidths may includechannel bandwidths ranging from 50 MHz or 100 MHz to 2.16 GHz or in somecases even higher.

Various aspects of the present disclosure relate to techniques thatenable management of network-configured sensing bandwidths in a wirelesscommunication system. In particular aspects of the present disclosure, anetwork may configure a sensing bandwidth, and the sensing bandwidthconfiguration may be signaled to a contending node. The contending node(e.g., a UE or a base station) may then perform a medium sensingprocedure (e.g., an LBT procedure) using the configuration of thesensing bandwidth signaled to the UE. By providing techniques forconfiguring a sensing bandwidth at the network, and signaling thesensing bandwidth configuration to contending nodes, aspects of thepresent disclosure provide a more dynamic process that is better suitedfor those large variations in channel bandwidths, and which is betteradapted to handle deployed channelization/numerology and heterogeneityin the frequency domain interference.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an example wireless communications system300 that supports management of network-configured sensing bandwidthsaccording to one or more aspects. In some examples, wirelesscommunications system 300 may implement aspects of wireless network 100.Wireless communications system 300 includes UE 115 and base station 105.Although one UE 115 and one base station 105 are illustrated, in someother implementations, wireless communications system 300 may generallyinclude multiple UEs 115, and may include more than one base station105.

UE 115 may include a variety of components (such as structural, hardwarecomponents) used for carrying out one or more functions describedherein. For example, these components may include one or more processors302 (hereinafter referred to collectively as “processor 302”), one ormore memory devices 304 (hereinafter referred to collectively as “memory304”), one or more transmitters 316 (hereinafter referred tocollectively as “transmitter 316”), and one or more receivers 318(hereinafter referred to collectively as “receiver 318”). Processor 302may be configured to execute instructions stored in memory 304 toperform the operations described herein. In some implementations,processor 302 includes or corresponds to one or more of receiveprocessor 258, transmit processor 264, and controller 280, and memory304 includes or corresponds to memory 282.

Memory 304 includes or is configured to store LBT operation manager 350.In aspects, LBT operation manager 350 may be configured to control,manage, or otherwise conduct operations to facilitate LBT operations(e.g., a CCA procedure or other medium sensing procedures) in accordancewith aspects of the present disclosure.

Transmitter 316 is configured to transmit reference signals, controlinformation and data to one or more other devices, and receiver 318 isconfigured to receive references signals, synchronization signals,control information and data from one or more other devices. Forexample, transmitter 316 may transmit signaling, control information anddata to, and receiver 318 may receive signaling, control information anddata from, base station 105. In some implementations, transmitter 316and receiver 318 may be integrated in one or more transceivers.Additionally or alternatively, transmitter 316 or receiver 318 mayinclude or correspond to one or more components of UE 115 described withreference to FIG. 2.

Base station 105 may include a variety of components (such asstructural, hardware components) used for carrying out one or morefunctions described herein. For example, these components may includeone or more processors 352 (hereinafter referred to collectively as“processor 352”), one or more memory devices 354 (hereinafter referredto collectively as “memory 354”), one or more transmitters 356(hereinafter referred to collectively as “transmitter 356”), and one ormore receivers 358 (hereinafter referred to collectively as “receiver358”). Processor 352 may be configured to execute instructions stored inmemory 354 to perform the operations described herein. In someimplementations, processor 352 includes or corresponds to one or more ofreceive processor 238, transmit processor 220, and controller 240, andmemory 354 includes or corresponds to memory 242.

Memory 354 includes or is configured to store sensing bandwidth manager310. In aspects, sensing bandwidth manager 310 may be configured tocontrol, manage, or otherwise conduct operations to configure a sensingbandwidth for LBT operations in accordance with aspects of the presentdisclosure.

Transmitter 356 is configured to transmit reference signals,synchronization signals, control information and data to one or moreother devices, and receiver 358 is configured to receive referencesignals, control information and data from one or more other devices.For example, transmitter 356 may transmit signaling, control informationand data to, and receiver 358 may receive signaling, control informationand data from, UE 115. In some implementations, transmitter 356 andreceiver 358 may be integrated in one or more transceivers. Additionallyor alternatively, transmitter 356 or receiver 358 may include orcorrespond to one or more components of base station 105 described withreference to FIG. 2.

In some implementations, wireless communications system 300 implements a5G NR network. For example, wireless communications system 300 mayinclude multiple 5G-capable UEs 115 and multiple 5G-capable basestations 105, such as UEs and base stations configured to operate inaccordance with a 5G NR network protocol such as that defined by the3GPP.

During operation of wireless communications system 300, a sensingbandwidth to be used for LBT operations, such as in accordance with thediscussion above, may be configured by the network, and sensingbandwidth configuration 321 may be generated based on the configurationby the network. For example, in some aspects, sensing bandwidthconfiguration 321 may be determined or configured by base station 105.In some aspects, sensing bandwidth configuration 321 may be configuredby another network entity, but may be signaled to base station 105, suchas via a backhaul link.

In aspects, sensing bandwidth configuration 321 may define variousaspects of the sensing bandwidth to be used by contending nodes. In someaspects, sensing bandwidth configuration 321 may define a bandwidth ofthe sensing window, which may indicate a number of LBT subbands intowhich the sensing bandwidth is divided. In some aspects, sensingbandwidth configuration 321 may define a size for each LBT subband. Insome cases, the LBT subband size may be defined for all LBT subbands, ormay be defined individually. In some cases, the LBT subband size may bedefined for groups of LBT subbands.

It is noted that sensing bandwidth configuration 321 as described aboveis configured by the network dynamically. In these aspects, there maynot be a definition of the sensing bandwidth configuration 321 in theapplicable standard specifications that govern the definition of variousaspects of wireless network 300's operation (e.g., 3GPP standards). Forexample, the LBT subband bandwidth may not be defined in the standardspecifications. However, aspects of the present disclosure providetechniques for the LBT subband bandwidth to be configured by the networkand signaled to contending nodes.

During operation, sensing bandwidth configuration 321 may be signaled toUE 115. In some aspects, sensing bandwidth configuration 321 may besignaled to UE 115 by a control node of wireless communication system300, or may be signaled by base station 105. For example, base station105 may transmit message 320 to UE 115. Message 320 may include sensingbandwidth configuration 321.

In aspects, message 320 may be a broadcast message, such as a systeminformation block (SIB) message, a remaining minimum system information(RMSI) message, and/or other broadcast messages. The broadcast messagecarrying sensing bandwidth configuration 321 may be received by UE 115(and/or may be received by other network nodes).

In aspects, the encoding of the sensing bandwidth configuration 321 intothe broadcast message may be such that the LBT subband bandwidthsignaled to a particular node in the sensing bandwidth configuration 321may depend on the connection status of the particular node. For example,sensing bandwidth configuration 321 may be encoded into broadcastmessage 320 such that, when UE 115 receives and decodes message 320 andobtains sensing bandwidth configuration 321, the obtained LBT subbandbandwidth depends on the connection status of UE 115.

In aspects, when UE 115 is in radio resource control (RRC) idle mode(e.g., while searching for a base station to connect to), the LBTsubband bandwidth obtained by UE 115 from sensing bandwidthconfiguration 321 in message 320, which in this example may be abroadcast message, includes the initial uplink bandwidth part (UL BWP)with which UE 115 was configured. For example, a communication channelover which UE 115 is to transmit data, and for which UE 115 may contend,may be associated with at least one BWP configured for UE 115. Inaspects, when a UE is not in RRC connected mode, such as when UE 115 isin RRC idle mode, the UE may be configured with an initial UL BWP fortransmitting channel access messages over the communication channel. Inthese aspects, when UE 115 is in RRC idle mode, the broadcast messagereceived may indicate to the UE 115 that the LBT subband bandwidthindicated in sensing bandwidth configuration 321 may include the initialUL BWP. As such, when contending for the communication channel in RRCidle mode, UE 115 may conduct the LBT procedure over a sensing bandwidthincluding an LBT subband bandwidth that includes the initial UL BWP.

In aspects, when UE 115 is in RRC connected mode, the LBT subbandbandwidth obtained by UE 115 from sensing bandwidth configuration 321 inmessage 320, which in this example may be a broadcast message, is andLBT subband bandwidth specified relative to an active UL BWP and activedownlink (DL) BWP with which UE 115 is configured. For example, afterestablishing communication with a serving base station, UE 115 mayoperate according to an RRC connected mode. In these aspects, UE 115 maybe configured with at least one active UL BWP and at least one active DLBWP for communication between the serving base station and UE 115. Inthis case, the communication channel over which UE 115 is to transmitdata, and for which UE 115 may contend, may be associated with the atleast one active UL BWP and the at least one active DL BWP with which UE115 is configured. In these aspects, when UE 115 is in RRC idle mode,the broadcast message 320 received by UE 115 may indicate to UE 115 thatthe LBT subband bandwidth indicated in sensing bandwidth configuration321 is relative to the active UL BWP and the active DL BWP. In aspects,the LBT subband bandwidth may be specified as an offset and a sizerelative to either one or both of the active UL BWP and the active DLBWP.

In aspects, message 320 may be a UE-specific message. For example,message 320 may be an RRC message, a DL-medium access control (MAC)control element (CE) message, or a DL control information (DCI) message.In these aspects, message 320 may be transmitted to UE 115 specifically,and the message carrying sensing bandwidth configuration 321 may bereceived by UE 115, from which UE 115 may obtain the LBT subbandbandwidth information.

During operation, UE 115 may receive sensing bandwidth configuration321. In aspects, UE 115 may use the received sensing bandwidthconfiguration 321 (e.g., received from base station 105 in message 320)to determine a sensing bandwidth over which UE 115 is to perform the LBTprocedure (e.g., a CCA procedure) to determine whether the communicationchannel is available for a subsequent data transmission. In particular,UE 115 may use sensing bandwidth configuration 321 to determine the LBTsubband bandwidth and/or size. For example, UE 115 may decode message320 to determine the LBT subband bandwidth and/or size as configured bythe network and received in message 320. In aspects, UE 115 may performthe LBT procedure on one or more of the LBT subbands and may determinewhether the communication channel is available for the data transmissionbased on the result.

During operation, UE 115 may perform the LBT procedure (e.g., the CCA)on one or more of the LBT subbands as specified in sensing bandwidthconfiguration 321, and may determine whether the communication channelis available for the data transmission based on the results of the LBTprocedure in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

In some aspects, UE 115 may determine whether the communication channelis available based on aggregated LBT subband results. In these aspects,UE 115 may perform an energy detection procedure on groups of LBTsubbands from the LBT subbands as defined in sensing bandwidthconfiguration 321. For example, the LBT subbands into which thecommunication channel may have been divided may be further divided intoone or more groups of LBT subbands, and UE 115 may detect an energy onone or more of these groups of LBT subbands. In these cases, each groupmay include a plurality of LBT subbands. UE 115 may detect the energy ofeach LBT subband in a group, and may then obtain an aggregated detectedenergy for each group. In aspects, the aggregated detected energy for agroup may include a sum of the energies detected for all LBT subbands inthe group. In aspects, the aggregated detected energy for the group maybe compared against the EDT threshold. When the aggregated detectedenergy for the group is less than the EDT threshold, the group of LBTsubband may be determined to be available or clear. Otherwise, when theaggregated detected energy for the group is equal to or greater than theEDT threshold, the group of LBT subband may be determined to beunavailable or occupied. In aspects, this procedure may be applied toeach group of LBT subbands that is included in the channel bandwidth. Insome aspects, the entire channel bandwidth, e.g., all the LBT subbandsin the channel bandwidth, may be part of a single group. In this case,all the LBT subbands in the channel bandwidths may be aggregated into asingle energy detected result, which may then be compared against asingle EDT threshold to determine whether the channel is available ornot.

In some aspects, UE 115 may determine whether the communication channelis available based on separate LBT subband results. In these aspects, UE115 may perform an energy detection procedure separately on each LBTsubband into which the communication channel may have been divided, eachLBT subband as defined in sensing bandwidth configuration 321. Forexample, UE 115 may separately detect an energy on each LBT subband ofthe of LBT subbands of the communication channel. UE 115 may thencompare each individual energy detection result with a respectivesubband EDT to determine whether the respective individual LBT subbandis clear or not. For example, UE 115 may detect the energy on a firstLBT subband and may separately detect the energy on a second LBTsubband. UE 115 may then compare the energy detection result for thefirst LBT subband with a first subband EDT to determine whether thefirst LBT subband is clear or not. UE 115 may determine that the firstLBT subband is clear when the detected energy on the first subband isless than that the first subband EDT. Otherwise, UE 115 may determinethat the first LBT subband is occupied when the detected energy on thefirst subband is greater than or equal to the first subband EDT. In asimilar manner, UE 115 may compare the energy detection result for thesecond LBT subband with a second subband EDT to determine whether thesecond LBT subband is clear or not. UE 115 may determine that the secondLBT subband is clear when the detected energy on the second subband isless than that the second subband EDT. Otherwise, UE 115 may determinethat the second LBT subband is occupied when the detected energy on thesecond subband is greater than or equal to the second subband EDT.

In aspects, the subband EDT may be the same for all LBT subbands (e.g.,the first subband EDT and the second subband EDT may be the same), ormay be an individualized EDT for each subband, where the EDT for onesubband is specific to that one subband.

In aspects of the separate LBT subband results technique, UE 115 maydetermine that a communication channel is clear or unoccupied when allLBT subbands of the communication channel are determined to be clear. Inthese aspects, if one LBT subband of the communication channel isdetermined to be occupied, then the communication channel is determinedto be occupied. In some aspects of the separate LBT subband resultstechnique, UE 115 may determine to transmit over the communicationchannel as long as the transmission bandwidth (e.g., the set offrequency resources over which the data transmission is to betransmitted) is contained within the LBT subbands determined to beclear. In these aspects, if the transmission bandwidth spans at leastone LBT subband determined to be occupied, then UE 115 may determine toforego the data transmission over the transmission bandwidth.

During operation, after determining that the communication channel isavailable based on the LBT procedure, UE 115 may obtain a COT associatedwith the LBT operation and may perform data transmission during the COTover the transmission bandwidth. For example, UE 115 may transmit uplinktransmission 324 to base station 105 during the acquired COT.

In some alternative or additional aspects, UE 115 may perform one ormore operations based on the determination that the communicationchannel is clear, such as “sharing” access to the COT. For example, insome implementations, UE 115 may share the COT (or a portion of the COT)with another node to allow the other node to transmit during the COT.For example, UE 115 may transmit a COT sharing message 322 to basestation 105 to enable base station 105 to perform transmissions (e.g.,downlink transmission to UE 115 or another node) during the COT. Inaspects, COT sharing message 322 may include information about the LBTsubbands that were sensed by UE 115 during operations (e.g., sensedsubbands information 323), which may include information obtained by UE115 (e.g., whether specific LBT subbands are clear or not) andconfiguration information about the LBT subbands (e.g., information onsensing bandwidth configuration 321). In this manner, base station 105may occupy one or more of the LBT subbands determined to be clear by UE105.

In aspects, COT sharing message 322 may be transmitted to base station105 during the acquired COT by UE 115. The sensed subbands information323 may include various information about the LBT subbands. In someaspects, the information may include information about the sensingbandwidth, such as a starting frequency and/or a frequency range of thesensing bandwidth. In some aspects, the information may include a sizeof the LBT subbands, a starting frequency associated with the sensingbandwidth, and a number of LBT subbands. In this manner, base station105 may determine the size and bandwidth of the sensing windowassociated with the COT. In addition, COT sharing message 322 mayinclude an indication of which LBT subbands are clear and/or which LBTsubbands are not clear (e.g., are occupied). In aspects, the indicationof which LBT subbands of the sensing bandwidth are clear and/or occupiedmay be provided as a bitmap of the sensed LBT subbands with anbit-indication of indicating which LBT subbands are clear.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a COT sharing transmission schemeaccording to some aspects of the disclosure. As illustrated in theexample of FIG. 4, UE 115 may perform an LBT procedure (e.g., CCA) on asensing bandwidth that includes LBT subbands 410-413. The result of theLBT procedure may show that LBT subbands 410, 412, and 413 are clear,and LBT subband 411 is occupied. In this case, UE may determine to thatthe communication channel is available and may transmit a UCI to basestation 105 over clear LBT subband 412. In this example, UE 115 may alsotransmit a COT sharing message to base station 105. For example, UE 115may transmit a COT sharing message to base station 105 in UCI 415, or ona separate message, including information about the sensing bandwidthincluding LBT subbands 410-413. The information may include a startingfrequency of the sensing bandwidth, the size of each LBT subband, andthe number of LBT subbands (e.g., four LBT subbands).

After receiving the COT sharing message, base station 105 may determinea transmission bandwidth to transmit DL messages in the COT shared by UE115. In aspects, the COT sharing message allows base station 105 todetermine a transmission bandwidth that includes LBT subbands indicatedas clear in the COT sharing message, and to avoid LBT subbands that arenot clear. For example, base station 105 may determine to transmit DLtransmission 421 and DL transmission 420 during the shared COT. Asillustrated, base station 105 may determine to transmit DL transmission421 in free LBT subband 413, and may determine to transmit DLtransmission 420 in free LBT subband 410. As illustrated, base station105 may not transmit in LBT subband 411, as LBT subband 411 has beenindicated as an occupied LBT subband. As it will be appreciated, in someaspects, the UE providing information on sensed LBT subbands to othernodes in connection with COT sharing may improve efficiency of resourceallocation within the wireless communication system 300.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating an example process that supportsmanagement of network-configured sensing bandwidths in a wirelesscommunication system according to one or more aspects. Operations of theprocess illustrated in FIG. 5 may be performed by a UE, such as UE 115described above with reference to FIGS. 1, 2, 3, or a UE described withreference to FIG. 7. For example, example operations (also referred toas “blocks”) of the process illustrated in FIG. 5 may enable UE 115 tosupport management of network-configured sensing bandwidths. FIG. 7 is ablock diagram illustrating UE 115 configured according to aspects of thepresent disclosure. UE 115 includes the structure, hardware, andcomponents as illustrated for UE 115 of FIG. 2. For example, UE 115includes controller/processor 280, which operates to execute logic orcomputer instructions stored in memory 282, as well as controlling thecomponents of UE 115 that provide the features and functionality of UE115. UE 115, under control of controller/processor 280, transmits andreceives signals via wireless radios 700 a-r and antennas 252 a-r.Wireless radios 700 a-r includes various components and hardware, asillustrated in FIG. 2 for UE 115, including modulator/demodulators 254a-r, MIMO detector 256, receive processor 258, transmit processor 264,and TX MIMO processor 266.

At block 500, a UE receives a configuration for an LBT sensing window orbandwidth over which the UE is to perform a CCA procedure to determinewhether a channel in an unlicensed spectrum is available for a datatransmission over a transmission bandwidth. For example, UE 115, engagedin communications with a base station, may receive signals, e.g., viaantennas 252 a-r and wireless radios 701 a-r, that include aconfiguration for an LBT sensing window over which UE 115 is to performa CCA procedure to determine whether a channel in an unlicensed spectrumis available for a data transmission over a transmission bandwidth. Inaspects, the configuration of the sensing window may define one or moreof a bandwidth of the LBT sensing window, and a size for each of aplurality of LBT subbands of the LBT sensing window.

In aspects, receiving the configuration for the LBT sensing windowincludes receiving the configuration for the LBT sensing window from abase station in a broadcast message. In aspects, when the UE (e.g., UE115) is in an RRC idle mode, the configuration for the LBT sensingwindow may indicate that the bandwidth of the LBT sensing windowincludes an initial UL BWP. In some aspects, when the UE (e.g., UE 115)is in an RRC connected mode, the configuration for the LBT sensingwindow may indicate that the bandwidth of the LBT sensing window isdefined relative to an active UL BWP and active DL BWP of the UE.

In aspects, the UE may receive the configuration for the LBT sensingwindow in a UE-specific message, such as an RRC message, a DL MAC-CEmessage, or a DCI message.

At block 501, the UE (e.g., UE 115), performs the CCA procedure on atleast one LBT subband of the plurality of LBT subbands of the LBTsensing window. In order to implement the functionality for suchoperations, UE 115, under control of controller/processor 280, executessensing bandwidth manager 702, stored in memory 282. The functionalityimplemented through the execution environment of sensing bandwidthmanager 702 allows for UE 115 to perform LBT operations according to thevarious aspects herein.

In aspects, performing the CCA procedure on at least one LBT subband ofthe plurality of LBT subbands may include detecting an energy on eachLBT subband of the plurality of LBT subbands, adding together the energydetected on each LBT subband of the plurality of LBT subbands togenerate a total energy detected, and then comparing the total energydetected to an EDT. In aspects, when the total energy detected on theaggregated LBT subbands is less than the EDT, the channel may be deemedto be available or clear. Otherwise, when the total energy detected onthe aggregated LBT subbands is greater than or equal to the EDT, thechannel may be deemed to be unavailable or occupied.

In aspects, performing the CCA procedure on at least one LBT subband ofthe plurality of LBT subbands may include detecting an energy on eachLBT subband of the plurality of LBT subbands separately, and thencomparing each of the energies on the LBT subbands to a respectivesubband EDT separately for each LBT subband. In aspects, the channel inthe unlicensed spectrum may be deemed available or clear for the datatransmission when the energy detected on each LBT subband is less thanthe respective subband EDT. Otherwise, when the energy detected on oneor more LBT subbands is equal to or greater than its respective subbandEDTs, the channel in the unlicensed spectrum may be deemed unavailableor occupied.

In some aspects, determining that the channel in the unlicensed spectrumis available or clear for the data transmission may include determiningthat the energy detected on one or more LBT subbands is less than therespective subband EDTs, which may indicate that the one or more LBTsubbands are clear, and also determining that the transmission bandwidthover which the data is to be transmitted is contained within the span ofthe clear LBT subbands. In other words, the UE may use the channel fortransmitting the data when the transmission bandwidth is containedwithin the clear LBT subbands.

At block 502, the UE (e.g., UE 115) determines, based on performing theCCA procedure on the at least one LBT subband of the plurality of LBTsubbands of the LBT sensing window, that the channel in the unlicensedspectrum is available for the data transmission over the transmissionbandwidth. In order to implement the functionality for such operations,UE 115, under control of controller/processor 280, executes sensingbandwidth manager 702, stored in memory 282. The functionalityimplemented through the execution environment of sensing bandwidthmanager 702 allows for UE 115 to perform CCA procedures according to thevarious aspects herein. At block 503, the UE (e.g., UE 115) transmitsthe data over the transmission bandwidth. For example, UE 115, maytransmit signals, e.g., via antennas 252 a-r and wireless radios 701a-r, that include the data transmission over the transmission bandwidth.

In aspects, the UE 115, after determining that the channel is clear, mayobtain COT for the available channel. In some aspects, the UE 115 maysend, to a base station, an indication that UE 115 has initiated aprocedure to share the COT with the base station. In aspects, theindication that the UE has initiated COT-sharing may include anindication of LBT subbands that have been determined to be clear by theUE based on performing the CCA procedure on the at least one LBTsubband. In aspects, the indication of which LBT subbands of the of theplurality of LBT subbands are determined to be clear includes a startingfrequency of the LBT sensing window bandwidth, an ending frequency ofthe LBT sensing window bandwidth, a size of the LBT sensing windowbandwidth, a size of each LBT subband of the plurality of LBT subbands,and/or a bitmap of sensed LBT subbands indicating which LBT subbands areclear and which LBT subbands are not clear based on the CCA procedure.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating example blocks executed toimplement one aspect of the present disclosure. Operations of theprocess illustrated in FIG. 5 may be performed by a base station, suchas base station 105 described above with reference to FIGS. 1, 2, 3, ora base station described with reference to FIG. 8. FIG. 8 is a blockdiagram illustrating base station 105 configured according to one aspectof the present disclosure. Base station 105 includes the structure,hardware, and components as illustrated for base station 105 of FIG. 2.For example, base station 105 includes controller/processor 240, whichoperates to execute logic or computer instructions stored in memory 242,as well as controlling the components of base station 105 that providethe features and functionality of base station 105. Base station 105,under control of controller/processor 240, transmits and receivessignals via wireless radios 801 a-t and antennas 234 a-t. Wirelessradios 801 a-t includes various components and hardware, as illustratedin FIG. 2 for base station 105, including modulator/demodulators 232a-t, MIMO detector 236, receive processor 238, transmit processor 220,and TX MIMO processor 230.

At block 600, a base station (e.g., base station 102) generates aconfiguration for an LBT sensing window over which a UE is to perform aCCA procedure to determine whether a channel in an unlicensed spectrumis available for a data transmission over a transmission bandwidth. Inorder to implement the functionality for such operations, base station105, under control of controller/processor 240, executes LBT operationmanager 802, stored in memory 242. The functionality implemented throughthe execution environment of LBT operation manager 802 allows for basestation 105 to perform LBT sensing window operations according to thevarious aspects herein. In aspects, the configuration of the sensingwindow may define one or more of a bandwidth of the LBT sensing window,and a size for each of a plurality of LBT subbands of the LBT sensingwindow.

At block 601, the base station transmits the configuration of thesensing bandwidth to the UE. For example, the base station (e.g., basestation 105) engaged in communications with the UE, may transmit theconfiguration of the sensing bandwidth to the UE via antennas 234 a-tand wireless radios 801 a-t.

In aspects, base station 105 may transmit the configuration for the LBTsensing window in a broadcast message. In aspects, the configuration forthe LBT sensing window may be configured such that, when the UE (e.g.,UE 115) is in an RRC idle mode, the configuration for the LBT sensingwindow may indicate that the bandwidth of the LBT sensing windowincludes an initial UL BWP of the UE. In some aspects, the configurationfor the LBT sensing window may be configured such that, when the UE(e.g., UE 115) is in an RRC connected mode, the configuration for theLBT sensing window may indicate that the bandwidth of the LBT sensingwindow is defined relative to an active UL BWP and active DL BWP of theUE.

In aspects, base station 105 may transmit the configuration for the LBTsensing window in a UE-specific message, such as an RRC message, a DLMAC-CE message, or a DCI message.

In aspects, base station 105 may receive from the UE an indication thatthe UE has initiated a procedure to share a COT obtained by the UE withthe base station. In aspects, the indication that the UE has initiatedCOT-sharing may include an indication of LBT subbands that have beendetermined to be clear by the UE based on performing the CCA procedureon the at least one LBT subband. In aspects, the indication of which LBTsubbands of the of the plurality of LBT subbands are determined to beclear includes a starting frequency of the LBT sensing window bandwidth,an ending frequency of the LBT sensing window bandwidth, a size of theLBT sensing window bandwidth, a size of each LBT subband of theplurality of LBT subbands, and/or a bitmap of sensed LBT subbandsindicating which LBT subbands are clear and which LBT subbands are notclear based on the CCA procedure.

In aspects, the base station may use the COT-sharing informationreceived from the UE to transmit data during the COT based on theCOT-sharing information. For example, the base station may transmitduring the COT in an LBT subband that has been indicated as clear by theUE, but the base station may not transmit, or may refrain or foregotransmitting, during the COT in an LBT subband that has been indicatedas occupied (or not clear) by the UE.

In one or more aspects, techniques for supporting management ofnetwork-configured sensing bandwidths in a wireless communication systemaccording to one or more aspects may include additional aspects, such asany single aspect or any combination of aspects described below or inconnection with one or more other processes or devices describedelsewhere herein. In a first aspect, supporting management ofnetwork-configured sensing bandwidths in a wireless communication systemmay include an apparatus configured to receive a configuration for anLBT sensing window over which the UE is to perform a CCA procedure todetermine whether a channel in an unlicensed spectrum is available for adata transmission over a transmission bandwidth. In the first aspect,the configuration defines one or more of a bandwidth of the LBT sensingwindow, and a size for each of a plurality of LBT subbands of the LBTsensing window. The apparatus is further configured to perform the CCAprocedure on at least one LBT subband of the plurality of LBT subbandsof the LBT sensing window, to determine, based on performing the CCAprocedure on the at least one LBT subband of the plurality of LBTsubbands of the LBT sensing window, that the channel in the unlicensedspectrum is available for the data transmission over the transmissionbandwidth, and to transmit the data over the transmission bandwidth.Additionally, the apparatus may perform or operate according to one ormore aspects as described below. In some implementations, the apparatusincludes a wireless device, such as a UE. In some implementations, theapparatus may include at least one processor, and a memory coupled tothe processor. The processor may be configured to perform operationsdescribed herein with respect to the apparatus. In some otherimplementations, the apparatus may include a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium having program code recorded thereon and theprogram code may be executable by a computer for causing the computer toperform operations described herein with reference to the apparatus. Insome implementations, the apparatus may include one or more meansconfigured to perform operations described herein. In someimplementations, a method of wireless communication may include one ormore operations described herein with reference to the apparatus.

In a second aspect, alone or in combination with the first aspect,performing the CCA procedure on at least one LBT subband of theplurality of LBT subbands includes detecting an energy on each LBTsubband of the plurality of LBT subbands.

In a third aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the firstaspect or the second aspect, performing the CCA procedure on at leastone LBT subband of the plurality of LBT subbands includes addingtogether the energy detected on each LBT subband of the plurality of LBTsubbands to generate a total energy detected.

In a fourth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of thefirst aspect through the third aspect, performing the CCA procedure onat least one LBT subband of the plurality of LBT subbands includescomparing the total energy detected to an EDT.

In a fifth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the firstaspect through the fourth aspect, determining that the channel in theunlicensed spectrum is available for the data transmission includesdetermining that the total energy detected is less than the EDT.

In a sixth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the firstaspect through the fifth aspect, performing the CCA procedure on atleast one LBT subband of the plurality of LBT subbands includesdetecting an energy on each LBT subband of the plurality of LBTsubbands.

In a seventh aspect, alone or in combination with the sixth aspect,performing the CCA procedure on at least one LBT subband of theplurality of LBT subbands includes comparing the energy detected on eachLBT subband to a respective subband EDT.

In an eighth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of thesixth aspect through the seventh aspect, determining that the channel inthe unlicensed spectrum is available for the data transmission includesdetermining that the energy detected on each LBT subband is less thanthe respective subband EDT.

In a ninth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the firstaspect through the eighth aspect, the techniques in the first aspectalso include determining that the channel in the unlicensed spectrum isnot available for the data transmission when the energy detected on oneor more LBT subbands is equal to or greater than the respective subbandEDTs.

In a tenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the firstaspect through the ninth aspect, determining that the channel in theunlicensed spectrum is available for the data transmission includesdetermining that the energy detected on one or more LBT subbands is lessthan the respective subband EDTs, thereby indicating that the one ormore LBT subbands are clear.

In an eleventh aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of thefirst aspect through the tenth aspect, determining that the channel inthe unlicensed spectrum is available for the data transmission includesdetermining that the transmission bandwidth over which the data is to betransmitted is within a span of the one or more clear LBT subbands.

In a twelfth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of thefirst aspect through the eleventh aspect, receiving the configurationfor the LBT sensing window includes receiving the configuration for theLBT sensing window from a base station in a broadcast message, and theconfiguration for the LBT sensing window indicates that the bandwidth ofthe LBT sensing window includes an initial UL BWP.

In a thirteenth aspect, alone or in combination with the twelfth aspect,the configuration for the LBT sensing window indicates that thebandwidth of the LBT sensing window is defined relative to an active ULBWP and/or a DL BWP of the UE.

In a fourteenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of thefirst aspect through the thirteenth aspect, receiving the configurationfor the LBT sensing window includes receiving the configuration for theLBT sensing window from a base station in a UE-specific message, and theUE-specific message includes an RRC message, a DL MAC-CE, or a DCImessage.

In a fifteenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of thefirst aspect through the fourteenth aspect, the techniques in the firstaspect also include obtaining a COT for the available channel.

In a sixteenth aspect, alone or in combination with the fifteenthaspect, the techniques in the first aspect also include sending, to abase station, an indication of LBT subbands of the of the plurality ofLBT subbands that are determined to be clear based on performing the CCAprocedure on the at least one LBT subband.

In a seventeenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of thefifteenth aspect through the sixteenth aspect, the indication of LBTsubbands of the of the plurality of LBT subbands that are determined tobe clear includes one or more of a starting frequency of the LBT sensingwindow bandwidth, an ending frequency of the LBT sensing windowbandwidth, a size of the LBT sensing window bandwidth, a size of eachLBT subband of the plurality of LBT subbands, or a bitmap of sensed LBTsubbands indicating which LBT subbands are clear and which LBT subbandsare not clear based on the CCA procedure.

In an eighteenth aspect, supporting management of network-configuredsensing bandwidths in a wireless communication system may include anapparatus configured to generate a configuration for an LBT sensingwindow over which a UE is to perform a CCA procedure to determinewhether a channel in an unlicensed spectrum is available for a datatransmission over a transmission bandwidth. In the eighteenth aspect,the configuration defines one or more of a bandwidth of the LBT sensingwindow, and a size for each of a plurality of LBT subbands of the LBTsensing window. The apparatus is further configured to transmit theconfiguration for the LBT sensing window to the UE. In the eighteenthaspect, the UE determines, based on performing the CCA procedure on atleast one LBT subband of the plurality of LBT subbands of the LBTsensing window, that the channel in the unlicensed spectrum is availablefor the data transmission over the transmission bandwidth. Additionally,the apparatus may perform or operate according to one or more aspects asdescribed below. In some implementations, the apparatus includes awireless device, such as a base station. In some implementations, theapparatus may include at least one processor, and a memory coupled tothe processor. The processor may be configured to perform operationsdescribed herein with respect to the apparatus. In some otherimplementations, the apparatus may include a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium having program code recorded thereon and theprogram code may be executable by a computer for causing the computer toperform operations described herein with reference to the apparatus. Insome implementations, the apparatus may include one or more meansconfigured to perform operations described herein. In someimplementations, a method of wireless communication may include one ormore operations described herein with reference to the apparatus.

In a nineteenth aspect, alone or in combination with the eighteenthaspect, the techniques in the eighteenth aspect receiving, from the UE,the data transmission over the transmission bandwidth within thechannel.

In a twentieth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of theeighteenth aspect through the nineteenth aspect, the UE performs the CCAprocedure on at least one LBT subband of the plurality of LBT subbandsby detecting an energy on each LBT subband of the plurality of LBTsubbands, adding together the energy detected on each LBT subband of theplurality of LBT subbands to generate a total energy detected, comparingthe total energy detected to an EDT, and determining that the channel inthe unlicensed spectrum is available for the data transmission when thetotal energy detected is less than the EDT.

In a twenty-first aspect, alone or in combination with one or more ofthe eighteenth aspect through the twentieth aspect, the UE performs theCCA procedure on at least one LBT subband of the plurality of LBTsubbands by detecting an energy on each LBT subband of the plurality ofLBT subbands, comparing the energy detected on each LBT subband to arespective subband EDT, and determining that the channel in theunlicensed spectrum is available for the data transmission when theenergy detected on each LBT subband is less than the respective subbandEDT.

In a twenty-second aspect, alone or in combination with one or more ofthe eighteenth aspect through the twenty-first aspect, transmitting theconfiguration for the LBT sensing window to the UE includes transmittingthe configuration for the LBT sensing window to the UE in a broadcastmessage, and the configuration for the LBT sensing window indicates thatthe bandwidth of the LBT sensing window includes an UL BWP configuredfor the UE.

In a twenty-third aspect, alone or in combination with the twenty-secondaspect, the configuration for the LBT sensing window indicates that thebandwidth of the LBT sensing window is defined relative to an active ULBWP and an active DL BWP of the UE.

In a twenty-fourth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more ofthe eighteenth aspect through the twenty-third aspect, transmitting theconfiguration for the LBT sensing window to the UE includes transmittingthe configuration for the LBT sensing window to the UE in a UE-specificmessage.

Those of skill in the art would understand that information and signalsmay be represented using any of a variety of different technologies andtechniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information,signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout theabove description may be represented by voltages, currents,electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields orparticles, or any combination thereof.

The functional blocks and modules in FIGS. 3, 5, and/or 6 may compriseprocessors, electronics devices, hardware devices, electronicscomponents, logical circuits, memories, software codes, firmware codes,etc., or any combination thereof. Software shall be construed broadly tomean instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code,programs, subprograms, software modules, application, softwareapplications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects,executables, threads of execution, procedures, and/or functions, amongother examples, whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware,microcode, hardware description language or otherwise.

Those of skill would further appreciate that the various illustrativelogical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described inconnection with the disclosure herein may be implemented as electronichardware, computer software, or combinations of both. To clearlyillustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, variousillustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have beendescribed above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether suchfunctionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon theparticular application and design constraints imposed on the overallsystem. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality invarying ways for each particular application, but such implementationdecisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from thescope of the present disclosure. Skilled artisans will also readilyrecognize that the order or combination of components, methods, orinteractions that are described herein are merely examples and that thecomponents, methods, or interactions of the various aspects of thepresent disclosure may be combined or performed in ways other than thoseillustrated and described herein.

The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits describedin connection with the disclosure herein may be implemented or performedwith a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), anapplication specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmablegate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate ortransistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combinationthereof designed to perform the functions described herein. Ageneral-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in thealternative, the processor may be any conventional processor,controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also beimplemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combinationof a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one ormore microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other suchconfiguration.

The steps of a method or algorithm described in connection with thedisclosure herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in a softwaremodule executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. Asoftware module may reside in RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory,EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, hard disk, a removable disk, aCD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. Anexemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor such that theprocessor can read information from, and write information to, thestorage medium. In the alternative, the storage medium may be integralto the processor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in anASIC. The ASIC may reside in a user terminal. In the alternative, theprocessor and the storage medium may reside as discrete components in auser terminal.

In one or more exemplary designs, the functions described may beimplemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof.If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on ortransmitted over as one or more instructions or code on acomputer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes both computerstorage media and communication media including any medium thatfacilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another.Computer-readable storage media may be any available media that can beaccessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer. By way ofexample, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can compriseRAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic diskstorage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that canbe used to carry or store desired program code means in the form ofinstructions or data structures and that can be accessed by ageneral-purpose or special-purpose computer, or a general-purpose orspecial-purpose processor. Also, a connection may be properly termed acomputer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmittedfrom a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable,fiber optic cable, twisted pair, or digital subscriber line (DSL), thenthe coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, or DSL, are includedin the definition of medium. Disk and disc, as used herein, includescompact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc(DVD), floppy disk and blu-ray disc where disks usually reproduce datamagnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers.Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope ofcomputer-readable media.

As used herein, including in the claims, the term “and/or,” when used ina list of two or more items, means that any one of the listed items canbe employed by itself, or any combination of two or more of the listeditems can be employed. For example, if a composition is described ascontaining components A, B, and/or C, the composition can contain Aalone; B alone; C alone; A and B in combination; A and C in combination;B and C in combination; or A, B, and C in combination. Also, as usedherein, including in the claims, “or” as used in a list of itemsprefaced by “at least one of” indicates a disjunctive list such that,for example, a list of “at least one of A, B, or C” means A or B or C orAB or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., A and B and C) or any of these in anycombination thereof.

The previous description of the disclosure is provided to enable anyperson skilled in the art to make or use the disclosure. Variousmodifications to the disclosure will be readily apparent to thoseskilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may beapplied to other variations without departing from the spirit or scopeof the disclosure. Thus, the disclosure is not intended to be limited tothe examples and designs described herein but is to be accorded thewidest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosedherein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of wireless communication, comprising:receiving, by a user equipment (UE), a configuration for alisten-before-talk (LBT) sensing window over which the UE is to performa clear channel assessment (CCA) procedure to determine whether achannel in an unlicensed spectrum is available for a data transmissionover a transmission bandwidth, wherein the configuration defines one ormore of: a bandwidth of the LBT sensing window, and a size for each of aplurality of LBT subbands of the LBT sensing window; performing the CCAprocedure on at least one LBT subband of the plurality of LBT subbandsof the LBT sensing window; determining, based on performing the CCAprocedure on the at least one LBT subband of the plurality of LBTsubbands of the LBT sensing window, that the channel in the unlicensedspectrum is available for the data transmission over the transmissionbandwidth; and transmitting the data over the transmission bandwidth. 2.The method of claim 1, wherein performing the CCA procedure on at leastone LBT subband of the plurality of LBT subbands includes: detecting anenergy on each LBT subband of the plurality of LBT subbands; addingtogether the energy detected on each LBT subband of the plurality of LBTsubbands to generate a total energy detected; and comparing the totalenergy detected to an energy detected threshold (EDT), and whereindetermining that the channel in the unlicensed spectrum is available forthe data transmission includes determining that the total energydetected is less than the EDT.
 3. The method of claim 1, whereinperforming the CCA procedure on at least one LBT subband of theplurality of LBT subbands includes: detecting an energy on each LBTsubband of the plurality of LBT subbands; and comparing the energydetected on each LBT subband to a respective subband energy detectedthreshold (EDT).
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein determining that thechannel in the unlicensed spectrum is available for the datatransmission includes: determining that the energy detected on each LBTsubband is less than the respective subband EDT.
 5. The method of claim3, further comprising: determining that the channel in the unlicensedspectrum is not available for the data transmission when the energydetected on one or more LBT subbands is equal to or greater than therespective subband EDTs.
 6. The method of claim 3, wherein determiningthat the channel in the unlicensed spectrum is available for the datatransmission includes: determining that the energy detected on one ormore LBT subbands is less than the respective subband EDTs, therebyindicating that the one or more LBT subbands are clear; and determiningthat the transmission bandwidth over which the data is to be transmittedis within a span of the one or more LBT subbands determined to be clear.7. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the configuration for theLBT sensing window includes receiving the configuration for the LBTsensing window from a base station in a broadcast message, wherein theconfiguration for the LBT sensing window indicates one of: that thebandwidth of the LBT sensing window includes an initial uplink (UL)bandwidth part (BWP); and that the bandwidth of the LBT sensing windowis defined relative to an active UL and downlink (DL) BWP of the UE. 8.The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the configuration for the LBTsensing window includes receiving the configuration for the LBT sensingwindow from a base station in a UE-specific message, wherein theUE-specific message includes one or more of: a radio resource control(RRC) message; a downlink (DL) medium access control (MAC) controlelement (CE) message; and a DL control information (DCI) message.
 9. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: obtaining a channel occupancytime (COT) for the channel determined to be available for the datatransmission; and sending, to a base station, an indication of LBTsubbands of the of the plurality of LBT subbands that are determined tobe clear based on performing the CCA procedure on the at least one LBTsubband.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the indication of LBTsubbands of the of the plurality of LBT subbands that are determined tobe clear includes one or more of: a starting frequency of the LBTsensing window bandwidth; an ending frequency of the LBT sensing windowbandwidth; a size of the LBT sensing window bandwidth; a size of eachLBT subband of the plurality of LBT subbands; and a bitmap of sensed LBTsubbands indicating which LBT subbands are clear and which LBT subbandsare not clear based on the CCA procedure.
 11. A method of wirelesscommunication, comprising: generating, by a base station, aconfiguration for a listen-before-talk (LBT) sensing window over which auser equipment (UE) is to perform a clear channel assessment (CCA)procedure to determine whether a channel in an unlicensed spectrum isavailable for a data transmission over a transmission bandwidth, whereinthe configuration defines one or more of: a bandwidth of the LBT sensingwindow, and a size for each of a plurality of LBT subbands of the LBTsensing window; and transmitting the configuration for the LBT sensingwindow to the UE, wherein the UE determines, based on performing the CCAprocedure on at least one LBT subband of the plurality of LBT subbandsof the LBT sensing window, that the channel in the unlicensed spectrumis available for the data transmission over the transmission bandwidth.12. The method of claim 11, further comprising: receiving, from the UE,the data transmission over the transmission bandwidth within thechannel.
 13. The method of claim 11, wherein the UE performs the CCAprocedure on at least one LBT subband of the plurality of LBT subbandsby: detecting an energy on each LBT subband of the plurality of LBTsubbands; adding together the energy detected on each LBT subband of theplurality of LBT subbands to generate a total energy detected; andcomparing the total energy detected to an energy detected threshold(EDT), and determining that the channel in the unlicensed spectrum isavailable for the data transmission when the total energy detected isless than the EDT.
 14. The method of claim 11, wherein the UE performsthe CCA procedure on at least one LBT subband of the plurality of LBTsubbands by: detecting an energy on each LBT subband of the plurality ofLBT subbands; comparing the energy detected on each LBT subband to arespective subband energy detected threshold (EDT); and determining thatthe channel in the unlicensed spectrum is available for the datatransmission when the energy detected on each LBT subband is less thanthe respective subband EDT.
 15. The method of claim 11, whereintransmitting the configuration for the LBT sensing window to the UEincludes transmitting the configuration for the LBT sensing window tothe UE in a broadcast message, wherein the configuration for the LBTsensing window indicates one of: that the bandwidth of the LBT sensingwindow includes an initial uplink (UL) bandwidth part (BWP) configuredfor the UE; and that the bandwidth of the LBT sensing window is definedrelative to an active UL and downlink (DL) BWP of the UE.
 16. The methodof claim 11, wherein transmitting the configuration for the LBT sensingwindow to the UE includes transmitting the configuration for the LBTsensing window to the UE in a UE-specific message, wherein theUE-specific message includes one or more of: a radio resource control(RRC) message; a downlink (DL) medium access control (MAC) controlelement (CE) message; and a DL control information (DCI) message. 17.The method of claim 11, further comprising: receiving, from the UE, anindication that the UE has initiated a channel occupancy time(COT)-sharing procedure to share a COT obtain based on the CCA procedurewith the base station, wherein the indication that that the UE hasinitiated a COT-sharing procedure includes an indication of LBT subbandsof the of the plurality of LBT subbands that are determined to be clearby the UE based on performing the CCA procedure on the at least one LBTsubband.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein the indication of LBTsubbands of the of the plurality of LBT subbands that are determined tobe clear includes one or more of: a starting frequency of the LBTsensing window bandwidth; an ending frequency of the LBT sensing windowbandwidth; a size of the LBT sensing window bandwidth; a size of eachLBT subband of the plurality of LBT subbands; and a bitmap of sensed LBTsubbands indicating which LBT subbands are clear and which LBT subbandsare not clear based on the CCA procedure.
 19. An apparatus configuredfor wireless communication, comprising: means for receiving, by a userequipment (UE), a configuration for a listen-before-talk (LBT) sensingwindow over which the UE is to perform a clear channel assessment (CCA)procedure to determine whether a channel in an unlicensed spectrum isavailable for a data transmission over a transmission bandwidth, whereinthe configuration defines one or more of: a bandwidth of the LBT sensingwindow, and a size for each of a plurality of LBT subbands of the LBTsensing window; means for performing the CCA procedure on at least oneLBT subband of the plurality of LBT subbands of the LBT sensing window;means for determining, based on performing the CCA procedure on the atleast one LBT subband of the plurality of LBT subbands of the LBTsensing window, that the channel in the unlicensed spectrum is availablefor the data transmission over the transmission bandwidth; and means fortransmitting the data over the transmission bandwidth.
 20. The apparatusof claim 19, wherein the means for performing the CCA procedure on atleast one LBT subband of the plurality of LBT subbands include: meansfor detecting an energy on each LBT subband of the plurality of LBTsubbands; means for adding together the energy detected on each LBTsubband of the plurality of LBT subbands to generate a total energydetected; and means for comparing the total energy detected to an energydetected threshold (EDT), and wherein the means for determining that thechannel in the unlicensed spectrum is available for the datatransmission include means for determining that the total energydetected is less than the EDT.
 21. The apparatus of claim 19, whereinthe means for performing the CCA procedure on at least one LBT subbandof the plurality of LBT subbands include: means for detecting an energyon each LBT subband of the plurality of LBT subbands; and means forcomparing the energy detected on each LBT subband to a respectivesubband energy detected threshold (EDT).
 22. The apparatus of claim 21,wherein the means for determining that the channel in the unlicensedspectrum is available for the data transmission include: means fordetermining that the energy detected on each LBT subband is less thanthe respective subband EDT.
 23. The apparatus of claim 21, furthercomprising: means for determining that the channel in the unlicensedspectrum is not available for the data transmission when the energydetected on one or more LBT subbands is equal to or greater than therespective subband EDTs.
 24. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein themeans for determining that the channel in the unlicensed spectrum isavailable for the data transmission include: means for determining thatthe energy detected on one or more LBT subbands is less than therespective subband EDTs, thereby indicating that the one or more LBTsubbands are clear; and means for determining that the transmissionbandwidth over which the data is to be transmitted is within a span ofthe one or more clear LBT subbands determined to be clear.
 25. Theapparatus of claim 19, wherein the means for receiving the configurationfor the LBT sensing window include means for receiving the configurationfor the LBT sensing window from a base station in a broadcast message,wherein the configuration for the LBT sensing window indicates one of:that the bandwidth of the LBT sensing window includes an initial uplink(UL) bandwidth part (BWP); and that the bandwidth of the LBT sensingwindow is defined relative to an active UL and downlink (DL) BWP of theUE.
 26. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the means for receiving theconfiguration for the LBT sensing window include means for receiving theconfiguration for the LBT sensing window from a base station in aUE-specific message, wherein the UE-specific message includes one ormore of: a radio resource control (RRC) message; a downlink (DL) mediumaccess control (MAC) control element (CE) message; and a DL controlinformation (DCI) message.
 27. The apparatus of claim 19, furthercomprising: means for obtaining a channel occupancy time (COT) for thechannel determined to be available for the data transmission; and meansfor sending, to a base station, an indication of LBT subbands of the ofthe plurality of LBT subbands that are determined to be clear based onperforming the CCA procedure on the at least one LBT subband.
 28. Theapparatus of claim 27, wherein the indication of LBT subbands of the ofthe plurality of LBT subbands that are determined to be clear includesone or more of: a starting frequency of the bandwidth of the LBT sensingwindow; an ending frequency of the bandwidth of the LBT sensing window;a size of the bandwidth of the LBT sensing window; a size of each LBTsubband of the plurality of LBT subbands; and a bitmap of sensed LBTsubbands indicating which LBT subbands are clear and which LBT subbandsare not clear based on the CCA procedure.
 29. An apparatus configuredfor wireless communication, the apparatus comprising: at least oneprocessor; and a memory coupled to the at least one processor, whereinthe at least one processor is configured to: receive, by a userequipment (UE), a configuration for a listen-before-talk (LBT) sensingwindow over which the UE is to perform a clear channel assessment (CCA)procedure to determine whether a channel in an unlicensed spectrum isavailable for a data transmission over a transmission bandwidth, whereinthe configuration defines one or more of: a bandwidth of the LBT sensingwindow, and a size for each of a plurality of LBT subbands of the LBTsensing window; perform the CCA procedure on at least one LBT subband ofthe plurality of LBT subbands of the LBT sensing window; determine,based on performing the CCA procedure on the at least one LBT subband ofthe plurality of LBT subbands of the LBT sensing window, that thechannel in the unlicensed spectrum is available for the datatransmission over the transmission bandwidth; and transmit the data overthe transmission bandwidth.
 30. An apparatus configured for wirelesscommunication, the apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and amemory coupled to the at least one processor, wherein the at least oneprocessor is configured to: generate, by a base station, a configurationfor a listen-before-talk (LBT) sensing window over which a userequipment (UE) is to perform a clear channel assessment (CCA) procedureto determine whether a channel in an unlicensed spectrum is availablefor a data transmission over a transmission bandwidth, wherein theconfiguration defines one or more of: a bandwidth of the LBT sensingwindow, and a size for each of a plurality of LBT subbands of the LBTsensing window; and transmit the configuration for the LBT sensingwindow to the UE, wherein the UE determines, based on performing the CCAprocedure on at least one LBT subband of the plurality of LBT subbandsof the LBT sensing window, that the channel in the unlicensed spectrumis available for the data transmission over the transmission bandwidth.